6 Types Of Extended & Altered Dominant 7 Chord Voicings For Guitar

Firstable, before tackling the 6 dominant 7 voicing shapes, you need to understand three important theoretical notions. Here are some brief explanations:

What's A Dominant 7 Chord?

A Dominant 7 chord, often written as "dom7" or simply "7," is a four-note chord that consists of a root note (1), a major third (3), a perfect fifth (5), and a minor seventh (b7). In Roman numeral analysis, it is represented as V7, indicating its dominant function.

For example, in the key of C major, the G7 chord is the dominant 7 chord. Its notes are G (root), B (major third), D (perfect fifth), and F (minor seventh). The dominant 7 chord is characterized by the tension created by the minor seventh interval, which gives it a strong, unresolved sound.

You'll find here the main dominant 7 guitar chord shapes.

What's An Altered Chord?

An altered chord is a type of chord that includes one or more notes that are modified, or altered, from the diatonic scale. These alterations typically involve changing the natural, unaltered notes of a chord to create tension and dissonance, which can then be resolved in a specific way.

The most common alterations involve the fifth, ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth degrees of a chord. For example, in a dominant seventh chord (typically made up of the root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh), the fifth can be altered by raising (#5) or lowering it (b5).

Additionally, alterations to the ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth may involve raising or lowering those notes as well. (b9, #9, #11, b13).

What's An Extended Chord?

An extended chord is a chord that goes beyond the basic triad (which consists of the root, third, and fifth) by adding additional notes, usually in intervals of thirds. The most common extended chords include seventh chords, ninth chords, eleventh chords, and thirteenth chords.

6 Shapes With Bass On 5th String

The six following guitar diagrams display shapes to play altered dominant seventh and ninth chords on strings 5, 4, 3, 2. These positions are derived from a drop 2 dominant 7 chord with the 5th in the bass (5, 1, 3, b7), here they are :

• C7 (5, 1, 3, b7)
• C7b9 (5, b9, 3, b7). Here, the root note (1) of the previous C7 chord is raised by a half step to get the b9.
• C7 (9) or C9 (5, 9, 3, b7). The root note (1) of C7 is raised by a whole step to get the 9.
• C7b5 (b5, 1, 3, b7). Here, the perfect fifth of C7 is lowered by a half step giving a C7b5 with the b5 in the bass.
• C7b5,b9 (b5, b9, 3, b7). The root note of the previous C7b5 is raised by a half step to get the b9.
• C7b5, 9 (b5, 9, 3, b7). Here, the b9 of the previous voicing is raised by half step.

Same Voicings With Bass On 4th String

The next six shapes are voiced in the same way as the previous six but are played on strings 4, 3, 2, 1.